Andrew Ryvkin | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/andrew-ryvkin
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Russia wants to stick it to the US. Snowden is just the guy they need | Andrew Ryvkinhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/25/edward-snowden-moscow-russia-us-rivalry
Russia 'holding' Edward Snowden isn't about intelligence gathering. It's about Putin asserting the old Cold War rivalry<p>Back in 2010, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/29/fbi-breaks-up-alleged-russian-spy-ring-deep-cover">when a Russian spy ring </a>was uncovered in the US, Vladimir Putin was asked if he knew who betrayed them. He said that he knew the traitors by name. He went on to add: </p><p> &quot;Traitors always come to no good, they end up in a ditch either drunk or overdosed on drugs. The other day one such traitor kicked the bucket exactly like that, abroad. And there is no point doing it, really.&quot; </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/25/edward-snowden-moscow-russia-us-rivalry">Continue reading...</a>Edward SnowdenRussiaUS newsWorld newsVladimir PutinNSASurveillanceTue, 25 Jun 2013 14:37:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/25/edward-snowden-moscow-russia-us-rivalryVincent Yu/APA TV screen shows a news report on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has flown to Moscow, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong on Sunday. Photograph: Vincent Yu/APAPDocuments uncovered by the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, reveal surveillance of G20 delegates emails and BlackBerrys. Photograph: APAndrew Ryvkin2013-06-25T14:37:21ZRussia may be an economic powerhouse, but it's no China | Andrew Ryvkinhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/18/russia-economic-powerhouse-china
PwC says Russia will be Europe's biggest economy by 2030 – I say it is hampered by its politics and uncompetitiveness<p>Russia is to become Europe's leading economy by 2030, surpassing Germany, and pushing the UK out of the top 10 by 2050, according to <a href="http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/world-2050/assets/pwc-world-in-2050-report-january-2013.pdf" title="">a new report titled Brics and Beyond released by PricewaterhouseCoopers</a>. But should we believe them?</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/18/russia-economic-powerhouse-china">Continue reading...</a>RussiaEuropeWorld newsEconomicsBusinessPricewaterhouseCoopersFri, 18 Jan 2013 11:36:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/18/russia-economic-powerhouse-chinaAttila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian president Vladimir Putin Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty ImagesAttila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian president Vladimir Putin Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty ImagesAndrew Ryvkin2013-01-18T11:36:38ZGérard Depardieu isn't enough to change Russia's image | Andrew Ryvkinhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/04/gerard-depardieu-russia-image
The actor may be taking Russian citizenship, but convincing citizens life is better than in the west is a difficult PR exercise<p>In a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UZzC-oT3bw" title="">clip</a> from the state-owned Channel 1 Russia news broadcast that's been circling the internet since last year, a sobbing, dishevelled old man cries out from Italy to his countrymen: &quot;People of Russia, don't believe what they're telling you. They don't want us here, we're nobody&quot;. The man is Walter Litvinenko – father of the late <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/13/alexander-litvinenko-murder-british-evidence-russia" title="">Alexander Litvinenko</a>, the ex-FSB operative turned dissident who was poisoned in London in 2006. The video is an example of how the Russian government is aiming its propaganda machine at curbing emigration.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/04/gerard-depardieu-russia-image">Continue reading...</a>RussiaGérard DepardieuVladimir PutinWorld newsFri, 04 Jan 2013 14:30:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/04/gerard-depardieu-russia-imageAlexei Nikolsky/APFrench actor Gerard Depardieu has just been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/APAlexei Nikolsky/APFrench actor Gerard Depardieu has just been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. Photograph: Alexei Nikolsky/APAndrew Ryvkin2013-01-04T14:30:01ZThe debate on Lenin's body is Moscow's way of burying bad news | Andrew Ryvkinhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/15/lenin-body-moscow-burying-news
The Russian government's suggestion that Lenin's embalmed corpse finally be interred is just a distraction from political turmoil<p>The <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/13/lenin-corpse-may-be-interred?newsfeed=true" title="">debate on whether Vladimir Lenin's embalmed corpse should remain in a mausoleum</a> in the middle of Moscow's Red Square or be interred alongside his mother, as some say was the communist leader's wish, bubbled up again this week – but it has been simmering since the late 80s, when Gorbachev's policy of &quot;glasnost&quot; allowed for criticism of the once-sacred symbols of the Soviet regime.</p><p>Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first president and a vociferous opponent of communism in his later years, brought up the issue of burying the Bolshevik leader numerous times, but to no avail. In the mid-90s, when Yeltsin met fierce opposition from the Communist party of the Russian Federation and its many supporters, it was decided that tampering with such a key symbols of the Soviet past might radicalise the anti-Yeltsin sentiment in Russia. Burying Lenin would spark protests, which, considering Yeltsin's diminishing support, and the popularity of the Communist party – especially among the elderly – could have seriously harmed Yeltsin's 1996 presidential campaign and his administration's ability to push its agenda through the Russian parliament, in which the communists were a major force.The last time Yeltsin spoke on the issue as president was during his last year in office, in 1999, when he told a newspaper that he intended to bury Lenin once and for all. He never did.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/15/lenin-body-moscow-burying-news">Continue reading...</a>RussiaWorld newsCommunismVladimir PutinMikhail GorbachevEuropeVladimir LeninFri, 15 Jun 2012 15:12:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/15/lenin-body-moscow-burying-newsSipa Press/REX FEATURES/Sipa Press/REX FEATURESLenin's embalmed corpse on display in a mausoleum in Moscow. Photograph: Sipa Press/REX FEATURESSipa Press/REX FEATURES/Sipa Press/REX FEATURESLenin's embalmed corpse on display in a mausoleum in Moscow. Photograph: Sipa Press/REX FEATURESAndrew Ryvkin2012-06-15T15:12:45ZRussia's Occupy movement is not up to the task | Andrew Ryvkinhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/15/russia-occupy-movement-not-up-to-job
It may be fun, but it's ultimately futile. Trying to copy New York under this authoritarian and repressive regime won't work<p>American cuisine is becoming more and more popular in Moscow, with burgers, cupcakes and New York-style pizza taking over the cosmopolitan restaurant scene. A good example of this Americanisation is <a href="http://www.cornerburger.ru/home/en/" title="">Corner Burger on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya</a> or CBBG, as it's known among the hip crowd. It's one of many venues that provide an &quot;authentic&quot; New York culinary experience – steaks, salads and, of course, burgers of all sorts, at $15-25 a piece. It is popular among the upper middle class and the expat crowd – a slice of New York in the middle of Moscow.</p><p>Two miles away, in Chistye Prudy park, a different New York-themed oasis has recently been set up: Moscow's own Occupy Wall Street (OWS), named <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/13/russian-protests-march-occupy-abay?newsfeed=true" title="">Occupy Abay</a> after the famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abai_Qunanbaiuli" title="">Kazakh poet Abay</a>, whose statue has become the centre of the protest camp established last week by anti-Putin activists.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/15/russia-occupy-movement-not-up-to-job">Continue reading...</a>Occupy movementRussiaProtestWorld newsEuropeTue, 15 May 2012 14:44:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/15/russia-occupy-movement-not-up-to-jobAlexander Zemlianichenko/AP'Occupy Abay is almost indistinguishable from its New York counterpart – until you look at its demands.' Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/APAlexander Zemlianichenko/AP'Occupy Abay is almost indistinguishable from its New York counterpart – until you look at its demands.' Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/APAndrew Ryvkin2012-05-15T14:44:55Z